Azula Alone
by xYuuYanx
Summary: Azula wanders the earth kingdom, alone and hungry. Will she learn from this harsh experience?


**AZULA ALONE**

She sat Indian-style on the grassy field, waiting patiently for her prey to fall in her trap. She wore tattered rags, which seemed like the only suit she's worn for the past three years. Her long, auburn hair was tied into a top-knot, with two long bangs flowing from beside her two ears while her forehead was clear. Her lips, despite her poverty, were still rose-red. Her face, though she had not had a pleasant life the past years, was still attractive as ever, skin still white as porcelain, eyes still pretty as a doll's. She could thank her genes for that: she was once a member of the royal family.

Above her rose the hot, yellow summer sun, pulverizing the grass with it's intensity, but where a normal person would suffer under this heat, she basked in it, like a bee bathing itself in nectar. It was where she drew her strength, for she was once, and arguably still is, the greatest firebender in the land.

One by one, large bear-mammoths began to encircle her. Her trap was working. By covering her body with the scent of rotten fish, she attracted bigger prey. Four of the great beasts, twice her size, encircled her, examining her carefully, maybe wondering to themselves why such a weakling of a creature would dare attract the likes of them. Eventually, the prospect of a good meal made the four mammoth bears attack, and attack they did ferociously.

The girl quickly spun her legs, like a breakdancing move, and as she got up, a torrent of blue flames rose from the ground, startling the bear-mammoths. She made her form, two fingers pointing toward her targets, and with the grace of a ballerina and the viciousness of a warrior, she thrust out blue jets of fire from her fingers, and then she fired more and more bursts of blue flame that scared the bear-mammoths. It was too late for them though. She had fallen into their trap, and that trap was her. Such was the power of Azula's firebending, the art of pyrokinesis based on the shaolin northern long fist style. With every thrust of her fingers, with every kick of her shapely legs, blue flame came out at the end of her limbs, and the mammoth-bears were helpless. One by one they fell, like flies that drew too close to a bug-zapper, and in a matter of seconds, the battle was over. She won hands down.

"Pathetic." exclaimed the proud princess, as she towered mightily above her prey. She mused at their sorry states. They were badly scorched, one would never think that these creatures once had fur. She moved closer to the carcasses, which smelled of burnt flesh. "Well, you may stink . . ." She said. "..but you're still food." And with her sharp fingernails, she tore off the portions of the bears that were cooked by her firebending and ate. The former princess ate like a glutton. She'd not fed herself for two days. This was a lucky catch but as she enjoyed the tough meat of the bears, unbeknownst to her, another mammoth-bear stood behind her, attracted by the scent of rotten fish that she still wore. It swiped its massive paw at her ribs. The strike sent her flying for yards, and the sheer power of it knocked her unconscious.

Princess Azula strong, proud, beautiful. A cunning warrior, possessing both the brains of a wise general and the strength of a seasoned foot soldier. She was bitchy, but in a good way, (or if you're the enemy, a terrifying way). She was talented, born with the gift of fire, a true prodigy. She alone conquered the great earth kingdom city of Ba Sing Se, where other armies failed. But now she knelt in front of her brother, Firelord Zuko, shamed and insulted. The Avatar Aang had defeated former firelord Ozai, and the fire nation war campaign was over. Princess Azula was now a prisoner of war, and her brother, the new firelord, was to decide her fate.

Zuko looked down at his sister, muttering her name. "Azula. . . ."

"Save me your pity, Zuzu! " She cried out to him. "I lost. Father lost. The punishment for losing is death, I know that!"

But Zuko, despite having fought against Azula in the war, still felt kindness toward his sister. "I'm sure there's another way."

"NO! EXECUTE ME! That's the only punishment fit for such a failure!"

But a voice from afar intervened. "No it isn't, Princess Azula." It was General Iroh, the dragon of the west, and uncle to Zuko and Azula. "Your brother is right. There is another way."

"What's that, uncle?" asked the young firelord.

"Just like your brother, you too, Princess Azula, have the capacity to become good, after all, everything you did was in the name of your country. So, just like your brother, I believe the best punishment for you. . . . is banishment."

"Yes, that's right!" agreed Zuko. "When I was banished by father, I learned much about the world, and it taught me how to share the emotions of others."

"NO, YOU FOOLS! KILL ME!!"

Like the king that he is, Zuko stood up and gave his command. "I HEREBY DECLARE PRINCESS AZULA BANISHED FROM THE FIRE NATION, NEVER TO RETURN BEFORE THE PASSING OF THREE YEARS!!! GUARDS, ESCORT HER OUT!!"

Usually, it only took two guards to escort a prisoner away, but Princess Azula was a different story. Thirty guards, all of them elite firebenders, surrounded her, and even then they were not safe.

Azula smirked. "You'll regret this, Zuzu."

But Zuko was unaffected by her threat. "The avatar is on MY side, Azula."

The princess left the throne room begrudgingly. The thought of failure still plagued her. Under her breath she swore vengeance. Her honor, she must regain.

Slowly she opened her weary eyes, not knowing where she was. It seemed like she was in a tent, made of. . . . slabs of earth? A pang quickly surged through her spine. Her back was hurt badly, but the strange thing was that her stomach had been bandaged. Indeed, her entire torso was bandaged neatly, and it was the only thing she wore on her top. Of course, this startled her, and in her shock she caused an explosion of blue flames.

"WHAT IS THIS?!?!".

A young man, hearing the ruckus, peeped into the earth-tent, looking curiously.

"YOU!!" screamed Azula. "WHAT DID YOU…"

The boy sheepishly answered. "Hi. . . I saw you were.."

But Azula didn't let him finish, cutting him off with a jet of red flame from her fingers (She used red flame in order not to be recognized, since she was the only person in the world who could use blue flame.) The boy blocked by raising a slab of earth from the ground. Azula, enraged, continued her firey barrage, until the boy's shield could hold no more. The earth-shield exploded in his face, and he fell to the ground.

"YOU WILL PAY, PEASANT!!" Azula was to finish him off, but a sharp pain exploded throughout her body, and it made her collapse. The young man, forgetting about her recent assault on him, quickly rushed to her aid. He carried her back to the tent and laid her on the pile of straw She couldn't object to him, she had no strength to.

"You should take it easy, miss. You were hurt real bad by that mammoth-bear, and don't worry. Other than bandage you up, I didn't do anything to you. By the way, my name is Haru."

Judging by his innocent face, he did not have evil intentions on her. He looked sweet enough.

"Did you save me?" she muttered.

"Yeas, I did."

"You're an. . . earthbender?"

"Uh-huh?"

"Why did you save me, idiot? I'm an enemy. . ."

"The war has been over for three years, miss. Thanks to Firelord Zuko and King Bumi and the Avatar, peace has come back to our land."

"But after what we did to your kingdom. . . ."

"I don't hold grudges. Here, let me see your wounds."

Haru came close to Azula, but she pushed him away violently. "I'm a woman, fool! Don't touch me!"

"Oh, sorry, it's just that your bandage got all loosened up. Let me tighten it or the pain will come back."

"NO!!!"

"But. . ."

"I said NO!!"

Haru sighed. "Alright. I understand. Wait here. I'll have dinner ready. It's a good thing you took down all those mammoth bears. We'll have lots to eat tonight."

"What do you mean we? That's MY kill, understand?"

Haru threw her an odd look.

"But. . . I guess you can have some. Consider that payment for saving me! After that, were even."

"Alright. I'll go strip the beef"

A campfire roared outside the earth tent as Azula and Haru ate their dinner of mammoth-bear jerky. Azula stared longingly into the blaze. It reminded her of home. It had been three years. Had she changed at all?

"The stars are nice." said Haru, breaking the ice. "They're perfect when they're over Yuu fields. The grass reflects the moonlight, so it looks like were sitting on a sea of moonlight. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yes. Do you know what stars are, Haru?"

"What?"

"They're balls of fire. Just like this one." Azula made a fireball in her palm. "And if you really want to sit on a sea of light, all you have to do is ask me politely, and I'll torch the entire field for you. Go ahead. Ask me."

Again, he looked at her oddly. "You're not very nice, are you?"

"If it wasn't for the fact that you saved me I would have killed you hours ago. Lucky for you, I'm honorable."

"Why do you hate earthbenders so much?"

'Why? You ask me WHY?! Because we lost to you, that's why! You defeated us, and fire nation people don't take that lightly!! We were dishonored because of you."

Haru hung his head. "But, it was you guys who started the war."

"Whatever! The war is over now, and there's no point in bringing it up."

"I didn't bring it up. You did."

The meal was finished in quiet, and after resting a while, Azula stood, or one should say hobbled, up to her feet. She went to the side of the tent, where dried cuts of meat laid on a slab of stone, and collected the meats one by one.

"What are you doing?" asked Haru.

"I'm leaving."

"But you can't." he protested. "In your condition, you won't survive Yuu fields. This place is infested with lots of wild animals."

"I'd rather die than be in debt to an earthbender!" she snarled. After stuffing the meats in her pockets, she staggered away from the campsite, her chin held high. Despite the pain and the injuries, her pride could never let her stay. Haru looked on with pity as she left, battered but pompous.

Alone, bruised and broken, Azula trekked through the wide field. Haru was right. Despite looking like a calm pool of grass, the field was frought with much peril. As it turned out, she didn't need to cover herself with rotten fish scent to attract mammoth-bears: just the mere presence of her, a seemingly weak human, attracted them like cats to a mouse. For almost two days she trekked, and with every battle with every wild animal she encountered, moose-lions, deer-wolves and the like, her strength waned, until she could barely stand up. But the princess, still as proud as ever, refused to stay down.

While walking beside a wide river, Azula, with her misfortune, encountered a platypus-ox. It looked hungry. Unafraid, she stared the creature in the eye.

"What are you looking at?" she growled. But the platypus-ox growled back, and with its two-ton body, it charged to poor princess with large, sharp horns pointed forward. This is it, the princess thought. She was done for. With no more strength, she knelt to the ground, breathing heavily, but with her chin still held high. If she were to die, she would face death in the eye.

Just then, a large boulder flew toward the platypus-ox, and it knocked the animal away. Haru came raging out of the forest and stood in front of the fallen princess. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

Wearily she spoke. "You. . . what are you. . ."

"Watch out, platypus-oxen come in herds!"

Indeed, five more oxen came, and, seeing their fallen comrade, charged toward Haru and Azula. Haru stood his ground.

"What are you doing?. ." the princess wheezed. "…run!..."

But Haru didn't run. With a spin of his body and a thrust of his palm, he drew a column of earth from the ground and hit one of the animals on it's side. One had fallen from Haru's mighty earthbending, the art of terrakinesis based on Hung-Gar Kung fu. And so, Azula watch as Haru, the peasant boy from the earth kingdom, fought off the ferocious platypus-oxen one by one with power and strength. The ground shook with tremors as rock after rock came flying toward the beasts. Finally, Haru was victorious.

Tired but relieved, Haru approached Azula and said "I guess that's the last of them."

"Good. .. ." said Azula. Then she fainted.

She woke up in the same earth tent, same as before, only this time she wasn't surprised. Haru stood beside her, eating some of the dried meat he made a few days back. "I told you leaving early was a bad idea."

She turned away from him. The shame of being rescued twice by the same man. . . .

"What were you doing there?" she asked him.

"I followed you." Haru answered. "I was concerned that something might happen to you. And I was right. Here, have some jerky, though I doubt it would suit a princess' taste buds."

She was somewhat surprised to hear that, but then she realized that since he's been following her, he must have seen her use the blue flame.

"What are you doing here in the Earth Kingdom, Princess Azula?" Haru asked. "Shouldn't you be in the royal palace? Oh wait, let me guess. You're training too, aren't you?"

"Training?" she said in an irritated tone. As if she needed that. She was the best.

"Yes, like me. You see, I'm on a journey to train my earthbending. I've practiced a lot with Toph Bei Fong, and now I want to test out what I've learned."

"Bei Fong? That blind girl with the avatar?"

"Yes, she is the best earthbender in the world, after all. Stay here, I'll get you some hot water. Your injuries have gotten a lot worse because of all the fighting you did."

"Wait!"

But Haru had left before he could hear her. Now she lied there, deep in thought. Here was a person, an enemy, helping her in her time of need. How odd. She was the princess of the fire nation, the nation that invaded the earth kingdom, enslaving their people and ransacking their riches. Why was she being aided by one of them? It wasn't that he was weak, either. She saw his strength when he fought off the platypus-oxen by the river. No . . . it was something else. . . was this the meaning of kindness?

For three weeks Haru tended to Azula's wounds. Indeed, Azula would've died from her injuries had Haru not treated her in time. The princess watched as Haru selflessly took care of her, happily inconveniencing himself to her every little whim. Whenever she thirsted, or hungered, she would ask help from Haru, and he would oblige with no complaints. It was strange to receive this. . . . kindness. Azula was used to people obeying her, but that was because she was royalty. Now that she was nobody, to have someone help her so willingly was humbling.

Time passed and her body had healed, but it wasn't just her body that healed, her heart healed too. She felt a change inside her, a calming wind that controlled the flames within her. With her bandages now removed, she stepped out of the earth-tent, refreshed like she had bathed in the purest of waters and washed away all her grief, her shame and her pride. She once again basked in the sunlight. As she stood up, new and improved, she placed her hands on her hips and told herself "Uncle Iroh was right."

Haru, carrying some firewood he collected in the forest, spotted Azula standing out of the tent. He too could see her change. "Well, I'm glad your okay now." he said happily.

With a mean streak, the princess faced the young man and said, "Haru, will you please put down that firewood."

Haru put down the firewood. Just then, Azula yelled "EN GUARD!" and fired a jet of blue flame at Haru. The young man raised some earth from the ground and blocked the attack.

"What's the meaning of this?!?!" he shouted at her. Azula did her combat pose. "You said you were out here for training, right? Well, allow me to train you. You should thank me for this, you'll never fight anyone as strong as me ever again."

The young man smiled. "This is a weird way to show gratitude. Alright. Show me what you've got!"

Azula assaulted Haru with her blue flames, and all Haru could do was hide behind his earth shield, which slowly crumbled with every hit.

"Are you never going to attack?!" taunted the princess. "Well take this!"

Azula put her forefingers to her belly, breathed in, then fired out a massive blue fireball. Haru's earth shield was shattered to fragments.

"If you didn't notice already, regular earth is not a problem against blue flame." she said mockingly as she flicked away her hair that was blocking her face. "If you don't change your tactics, you're surely going to lose."

"You're right." Said Haru. "How about THIS!!"

Haru stomped his foot on the ground and out rose a large column of multi-colored crystals. Haru thrust it toward Azula, who gracefully leapt away and fired another blue flame jet at the same time. Haru used a crystal column to block, but this time, it held without damage.

"How do you like my crystal-bending? I learned this from Toph."

"Hmm. Impressive. But not astonishing. The avatar used that on me before."

The battle between them as fierce, with Azula mostly on the attack and Haru mostly on defense. Haru was not as good as Toph Bei Fong, but still, he held his ground well enough to earn Azula's respect. They fought for hours, rested for minutes, then fought again. The field around them was shattered and scorched, fire and earth flying in all directions. In the end, both were exhausted, but delighted as well.

They sat beside the river, Azula and Haru, where the young man saved the young girl from platypus-oxen weeks ago. Azula gazed at her own reflection. She looked the same as before, but she knew something inside her had changed. Perhaps this was what her uncle and brother meant.

"I'm sorry." She said to Haru.

"For what?"

"For the actions of the fire nation. . . . well . . . I mean, MY actions. I've done a lot of terrible things during the war, and for that I'm sorry."

"That's okay. You were just a soldier. Here." Haru offered her his hand. Azula, understanding the gesture, shook it.

"Thank you Haru."

"No problem. So you're leaving now?"

"Yes. Today is the end of my three-year exile. I'm going back to the fire nation.

"That's great! It's where you belong after all. Aren't you nervous to see your brother and uncle again?

"A little."

"Don't worry. You'll be fine."

Azula stood up and turned away. "Maybe I'll see you again, Haru. Till then, this is goodbye."

"Yeah. Goodbye."

A large fire navy ship loomed over Chen-Ho harbor. This was where Azula began her journey. Now it was also where it ended. The ship lowered its ramp, and Azula, who had been waiting for the ship, walked up. Firebenders stood by her side in a row, bowing down to her as she walked. At the end of the ramp stood a man Azula never thought she'd see again.

"Admiral Jeong-Jeong?? I thought you . . ."

"I returned to service after I heard of the end of the war. It is good to see you, princess." Jeong-Jeong bowed to Azula, who in turn, bowed to him. The Admiral was surprised. Azula, proud and regal, never bowed to anyone before.

"Please, your highness." Said Jeong-Jeong. "Follow me"

As Azula walked the deck of the ship, soldier after soldier bowed to her. Despite being shamed and exiled, she was still their princess.

"Princess, I have news for you from General Iroh himself."

"What is it, Admiral?"

"It seem he wants you to consider an arranged marriage."

"To whom?"

"To a son of the top-ranking general of Omashu. Lord Iroh says it will improve our relations with the Earth Kingdom."

"A general's son you say? What is his name?"

"I believe the boy's name is Haru. Here is a portrait of him"

Azula looked at the portrait and smiled. "Well, this sounds interesting. . ."

And the ship sailed away into the setting sun.


End file.
